Thank you MaggieMay17 for beta'ing, Ncsupnatfan and VegasGranny for pre-reading. Thank you all for reading.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Nick had been to the store to stock on necessities for the bunker, notably toilet paper, beer, and the cereal Jack liked so much. He'd enjoyed the trip, doing something normal when everything else was so crazy for them, and his thoughts had been peaceful. They weren't always. His mind often returned to Michael and dwelled on what he had said to him, what he had done to him.

He had no explanation for why Michael would feel he owed him a stab wound, and he was a little scared of finding out.

He parked and climbed out of the Impala, then grabbed the grocery bags from the trunk and slammed it closed. They weren't heavy, but they were awkward, and he had to open the door out of the garage with his elbow.

Voices reached him before he got to the library, Dean's and Castiel's. Dean's was pitched with stress, and Nick heard his own name mentioned.

"You could have given Nick time to get back so we can warn him he's coming, Cas."

"Why?" Castiel asked. "Sam is no threat to any of us, including Nick."

"Yeah, but he looks like Lucifer, so it feels like he should be."

Nick sighed and sped his pace to them. He'd heard enough to figure out what was happening. He walked into the library and set the bags down on a table. Dean spun to face him, looking a little guilty and Castiel seemed confused.

"Sam's on his way over?" he guessed.

"Yes," Castiel said. "He said he has something that can help us."

Nick wanted to escape, to excuse himself for the duration of Sam's visit, but he'd heard enough from Dean to know he thought Nick couldn't handle being around Sam, which made him look weak. He didn't want Dean thinking that.

He wasn't weak. He'd faced Lucifer and won twice. He'd been prepared to be trapped in the Cage again rather than give Lucifer consent and freedom again. He wasn't going to be intimidated by seeing his damn vessel. Just because he looked like Lucifer, it didn't make him a threat.

Nick gritted his teeth as a deep sense of unease swept through him. Sam wasan archangel, and that alone was a threat, but he was on their side – for now. Nick had struggled with that at first, unable to truly believe, but he did now. He'd heard the story of what Chuck had done, and the evidence of Sam healing Jack and what Michael said backed it up. How long would that last once Michael was dead? And Castiel and Dean couldn't see it, they could only see Sam dealing with Michael, not what could happen afterwards.

"I better get the groceries put away then," he said, his tone neutral.

He carried them out of the room and into the kitchen where Rowena was rooting through a cupboard, and Jack was sitting with his head in his hands. Neither of them looked at him as Nick entered.

Nick set the bags down and nudged Jack's shoulder. "What's up, buddy?"

"Lucifer," Jack said dourly, his face still hidden.

"What about him?"

"I heard Dean and Castiel talking. He's coming here."

"No, Sam is coming," Nick corrected. "There's a difference."

Jack looked up at last. "I know that, I do, but when I see him, I see Lucifer. Don't you?"

Before Nick could answer, Rowena slammed the cupboard door closed and said, "Of course you see him! That's not his true face, of course; you and I know that, Nicholas." She shot Nick a dark look. "I know Sam is the vessel, the innocent one and whatever other drivel Castiel spouts, but that's the face of the angel that beat me to the point of death and then set me on fire to finish the job." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I was aware of every moment of that thanks to my little slice of resurrection magic, and it was Sam's voice that spoke and laughed while it happened."

Jack ducked his head again and said, "See? It feels like him. Seeing him when we were talking by the lake, even with you all there with me, I felt like I was just waiting for him to attack any moment."

Nick sighed, grappling for a way to comfort the kid when he understood exactly how he felt as it was the same for him. "We need him," he said, the closest he could come to reassurance. "He's going to stop Michael."

Jack squeezed his eyes closed. "I hate that. If I'd been faster, I could have done it before Lucifer stole my grace. I took too long, and he got away. Then Lucifer took it, and now I'm…" His hands fisted. "I'm useless!"

Nick put his hand on Jack's shoulder and said, "You're not useless. You're getting your grace back. You're probably stronger than Cas now. You just need more time."

Rowena rolled her eyes. "No offense, Nicholas, but you have no idea how it feels to be us. I am a witch, a powerful witch with the total freedom of that power. I can use it to save my life from anything, but I can't stop myself from dying. There are apparently two threats to me in the world. One, you, doesn't worry me as I'm sure it will happen when it's time. Lucifer…" She shuddered. "I am helpless against him, and he wanted me dead even before I did anything to earn it."

Nick had rarely seen her like this. Rowena was usually the definition of strength and passion. Now she was showing her fear, and it hit him properly for the first time that he wasn't the only one that had nightmares about Lucifer and what he was capable of. Castiel had taken the true experience of the Cage from Nick, saving his life, but he couldn't take the memories, and they were what haunted him. He remembered the pain, the cruelty, the endless wish that he would die, and that it would be over once and for all.

He slapped his hand down on the table and said, "Okay, that's enough. Both of you, come with me."

"Where are we going?" Jack asked.

"Sam will be here soon, if he's not already, and we're going to face him. You all need to look him in the eyes and stand up to it. He's not going to be the boogeyman anymore."

Rowena laughed softly. "You think this as simple as facing our fears head-on? In case you're forgetting, Jack already faced him."

Nick's lips curved into a small smile. "This time, you're doing it knowing how it's going to end." He lowered his voice. "I have a plan to deal with Lucifer and Sam. I'm taking the vessel off the board when it's time, and I'm going to need both of you to do it."

"What are you plotting, Nicholas?" Rowena asked curiously.

"I'll tell you after you do this. See him now, show him you're not scared, and then I promise I'll fill you in. You need to do this first, or you're not going to be able to do what you need when it's time."

He walked to the door, knowing they'd follow, and marched through the hall. There was only the sound of his own movements at first, and then Rowena's clipping heels joined him and Jack's more reluctant steps. He smiled to himself and led them to the library.

Castiel and Dean were talking again, Dean leaning against the table, but they fell silent as Nick, Rowena, and Jack entered. Dean looked understandably surprised as his eyes fell on Rowena as she'd been vocal about not wanting to be anywhere near Sam.

"He's not here yet?" Nick asked, his voice successfully calm.

"He's on his way," Castiel said. "He said there was something he wanted to get first. He just reached out to me again to say he was leaving."

At almost the same moment, there was a loud knock on the solid iron door of the bunker. Nick was surprised he hadn't just flown in, but he was also relieved. He figured this show of restraint would help Rowena and Jack deal.

Castiel strode out of the room, and a moment later, there was the creak of the door opening and the clang of it closing. Nick positioned himself beside Dean, perching on the table in a show of ease, and Dean gave him a small smile before turning as Castiel and Sam entered. In Sam's arms was a wooden chest, and hanging from his wrist was a plastic bag.

"Hey, Sam," Dean said, his tone fonder than was appropriate. Nick figured he was playing to the crowd, wanting Sam to feel there was some sort of bond between them while they were working together and to reassure the vulnerable in the room that he was relaxed.

Sam smiled at Dean and then walked forward and set the chest on the table and put the bag beside it.

"What you got there?" Dean asked.

"I went to see the Brits," Sam said. "They hooked me up with something that can help you. They are what they call Angel Neutralization Bombs. They used one on me, and it knocked me unconscious. They have a side effect for humans, but they're not toxic. The Brits said that's just a pretty bad headache if you breathe too much in. They were wearing gas masks when they used them on me, so they were safe from even that. You've got gas masks here, right?"

"Yeah," Dean said slowly. "In the stores. They came with the place. How do you know about that?"

Sam opened his mouth to answer, then cleared his throat and said, "It was a guess. You seem to have everything else here." He looked downcast for a moment, and then his features smoothed, and he said, "If you can get a mask on before using the gas, do that. If not, prepare for a migraine."

"I don't see Michael giving us time to put on a gas mask if he arrives," Nick said.

Sam shrugged. "You've all been through worse than a headache."

"Yes," Rowena said pointedly. "We have."

Sam shot her a glance, and his lips turned down. "I know. I'm sorry."

A steely look came into Rowena's eyes, and she smiled sweetly. "Oh, we know that, Sam. You're not him."

Perhaps Sam heard some threat in her voice, or perhaps he was playing the role of caring, but he looked upset for a moment before shaking his head, opening the chest and pulling out a small brass cylinder about the size of a golf ball. "You drop it and say 'Libero.' The gas is fast. I was out in seconds. If Michael comes and you can, drop it and call me in that order. Well, pray to me."

Nick bit his lips to keep from smirking. He planned to pray to Sam one time and one time only, and it wasn't going to be until he was ready. Only when the plan was in place, Dean and Castiel distracted, would he pray to summon him to his demise.

"These are great, Sam," Castiel said with a smile that Sam returned. "Thank you. I know it took trust for you to give them to us as they can be used against you, too, but it's not misplaced. We won't hurt you."

Nick bit down on his tongue to keep himself from showing his relief. Sam trusted them, which was going to make his plan easy to execute.

"Yeah, really," Dean said. "Thanks, Sam."

Sam looked pleased. "I got something else out of them as well. In the box is a Hyperbolic Pulse Generator they had, too. We don't need it for Michael, obviously, but it gets demons out, too, so I figured it might be useful in future."

Nick's heart skipped a beat. This was perfect. "Yeah, that'd definitely be helpful," he said.

Sam nodded and glanced at Nick, then quickly looked away.

"You got any news on Michael?" Dean asked.

"No, I was in the UK for a while, getting the lowdown on the gas grenades. The recipe for making more is in the box, and I've got some of the more exotic ingredients here." He gestured to the bag. "The Brits are going to pass on the news to their global chapter houses about Michael's monsters. They indicated that they would be willing to work with you on this, but…"

"No!" Dean snapped. "We're having nothing to do with those bastards after what they did to us, to our mom."

Sam nodded, his eyes strangely sad. "I told them you probably wouldn't, but their contact details are with the ingredients."

Nick shook his head. "They can stay there."

Sam looked at him for a moment, his brow furrowed as if he was trying to puzzle something out, and then said, "I guess that's all then. I just wanted to make sure you had these. I've got to speak to Violet. I should go."

"Let us know if you hear anything," Dean said. "Or if you, you know, need anything."

Sam smiled slightly. "I will."

Before Nick could do more than shoot Dean an incredulous look, Sam was gone.

Dean picked up one of the canisters and turned it over in his hand. "This is great. We've got a way to take Michael down long enough to get the angel cuffs on him."

"They won't hold," Nick pointed out. "Lucifer got out of them."

"They might hold him long enough to get Sam here. That's all we need."

Nick felt Jack shift restlessly at his side, and he glanced at him, seeing the stress in his face. He picked up the bag of ingredients and said, "I'll look through this stuff and see what we're working with. Rowena, it's obviously witchy, so come give me a hand. Jack, you should probably learn how to do some of this, too."

"Of course, dear," Rowena said. "Come along, Jack."

Nick led them through the halls to the lab and clicked the door closed. He was sure they were far enough away for Castiel to not hear them, but the added barrier would help. He set the bag down on the counter and then turned and looked at them both.

"How was that?"

Jack sighed. "He doesn't act like him, but it still feels like him."

"No, he doesn't act like him," Rowena agreed. "But Lucifer didn't always act like himself either. When he was using me to get what he wanted, he was gentle and kind. That's what he looks like now." She narrowed her eyes at Nick. "What's your plan, Nicholas?"

"The Cage," Nick said. "I want to send Sam there, trap him."

Rowena's eyes widened. "Do you think we can?"

"We did it to Lucifer. Well, almost. We would have if Crowley hadn't screwed with the spell. Sam's got grace now, not a soul. We can send Sam to the Cage forever. He'll never be a threat again, and even if Lucifer somehow gets free of Chuck, his vessel will be useless."

"You'll kill it?" Jack asked.

"Yes." He looked between them. "Are you with me?"

Rowena laughed. "Definitely."

"Jack?"

Jack bit his lip. "I don't know about this Sam. I don't know what he did apart from let Lucifer in, so I don't know if he deserves the Cage…"

"I didn't deserve it, but I ended up there anyway," Nick said bitterly.

Jack took a breath and stood in thoughtful silence for a while before he nodded and said, "I don't want Lucifer to come back with a vessel, so yes, I'm in. What do you need me for?"

"I might not need you at all," Nick said. "Sam's given us those bombs so we can knock him out and maybe get the job done before he even wakes up. If not, we can get him in a holy fire circle. There's warding we can use, too. You might just be there to use a paintbrush. But you're strong and getting stronger, and we might need that for Castiel."

Jack frowned. "Cas?"

"You saw the way he looked at Sam today," Nick said. "Dean, too. They're not going to want us to do this. If they interfere, I can deal with Dean if you can incapacitate Cas when it's time."

Jack's eyes became sad, and Nick guessed there was a war of conscience waging in him. He hurried to press his advantage.

"This is the way it's got to be, Jack. Sam needs to be neutralized once he's dealt with Michael. Dean and Cas can't understand that as they just see the vessel, not the threat." He gripped Jack's shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Are you with me?"

Jack straightened his spine. "I'm with you."

Nick squeezed his shoulders and then released him. "Great. We've got everything we need since he brought the generator with him, so we've just got to wait for the right moment. As soon as Michael is dealt with, when we're ready, I'll get him here, and we can do it."

"How will you get him here?" Rowena asked.

Nick grinned. "I'll pray. Since he's playing at being the white knight, I don't think he'll be able to resist coming if he thinks we need him."

That was his one prayer. He would use Sam's own need to make amends, to help, against him. He would get him there, trap him, and then send him to the worst place imaginable.

Only then would it be over.

So… Nick has a plan. It's a kinda evil plan, but he's scared, and to his mind, it's Lucifer he's stopping too. How do you feel about him now?

Until next time…

Clowns or Midgets xxx